Automatic cranking device.



G. H. BROWN.

AUTOMATIC GRANKING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 24, 1911.

Patented May 13, 1913'.

wwi oz G. H. BROWN. AUTOMATIC CRANKING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 24. 19114 7 1,061,595. Patented May 13, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' 0'. H. BROWN. AUTOMATIC GRANKENG DEVICE.

AP ILIOATION FILED JAN. 24} 191?.

Patented May 13, 1913.

3 QHEETS-SHEBT 3.

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' I I. PM! 147, M

{trimaran n. snow, or PULASKI, 'rnnnnssnn.

Specification of Letters Patent.

nuroimn'rrc CRLNKINQ; nnvrcn.

' Patented Ma 13, 1913.

' Tojall whom, it may cancem Be it known that I, COLEMAN H. BROWN, citizen of the United States, residing at- Pulaski, in the county of Giles and State of Tehnessee, have invented certain new and useful. Improvements in Automatic Crankin'gDevices, of which .thefollowing is a specification.

v'Th's invention comprehendsncertain' new Titi-ffllldYllSGtlll improvements in mechanical- ;Qera devices for the-internal combustion engines ofautomobiles, motor boats, or

for stationary en ines, and the invention has "foraits primary ject, a simple and eflicient onstruction of device of this ,character hich--.w ill be, practically automatic. in its operation, and enable the driver of an auto out Lleavingthe drivers seat-J mobile, for instance, to start the. motor w ith- "2 00" v The invention; also has for its object-an ",Iim'proved automatic engine starting device, *lioperable by spring means and so arranged ythat atheflsprmg will'ibe properly safe -guardedby automatic .means,'- the var ous :,=.e1ements'or component parts of the device :being socorrelated with each other,-tha't the .fspring-,winding means will be automatically .f'thrownaoutgof operation when the spring has been fully wound and the Springagain .QKQTMIt maticaHy-WOund up to'theproper/ten- "sion afterthesprlng has exerted its force in startin the engine shaft and become unwound. d the nvention also aims to sim- "plify, render more durable and otherwise generally 1m rove-this class of devices so as to make t eni tnore useful and commerrciall desirable.

W th these and other objects in view as will 'more fully appear as the description fgo proceeds, the invention Econsists: in certain 1- constructions] arrangements and combina- .it'ions of the parts-flzatlshall hereinafter describe and'clarim 3 v or a full'understanding of the invention, reference isjto be 'had' to the following description zind accompanyingdrawings, in

which;

Figure-Ids" a face view of my improved.

automatie orankingdevice; Fig. 2 is a transverse seetlona view thereof, partly Application filed January 24, 1911. Serial No. 604,455. I

broken away, the section sbeing taken approximately on the line 2-1-2 of Fig.1; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig.

.4 is a section on the line 44 oflfig. 1; Fig.

5 1s a fragmentary perspective view of a clutch actuated mechanism hereinafter specifically described; and, Fig. 6 is a detail view illustratingthe ball clutch connection between the sprlng arborand the cranking shaft. v

- Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the samereference characters. I

My improved engine.cranking or startin device embodies a casing l of any desire size, designed to be mounted upon an auto mobile, for instance, in front, of the radiator or engine hood or bonnet, in place of the ordinary hand operated crank. A coil spring 2 1s mounted within the casing I, one ,end of said spring being secured to the easing andthe other end to an arbor 3. -One member 4 of a ball clutch is rigidly connected tothearbor 3 and is mounted within the same as best illustrated in Fig. and the other member 5 of said ball clutch, is keyed or otherwise secured to the cranking-shaft 6, which it isto be understood is identical with oroperatively connected to-the drive or crank shaft of the internalcombu'stion engine with which my improved starting device is combined. v a A gear wheel 7 is formed with or rigidly secured to the arbor 3 outside of the casing ,1, said wheel meshing with an idlerpinion 8, and said pinion in turn meshing with a pinion 9 having bearing upon a stud 10 projeeted. from one face of the casing. A gear wheel 11 is also-journaled on the stud 10 and meshes with a relatively wide pinion 12 slidable on the front end oi-the cranking shaft 6 and designed to be coupled thereto throughtheinstrumentality of'a relatively stationary clutch member 13 with which-the pinion 12 is designed-to engage. The pllllOIl 12'is at all times in mesh with the gear wheel 11, owing to the width of the teeth of said pinion, The arbor 3 is also formed with, or

as secured thereto, a relatively small spur 10o pinion-14 which meshes with a gear wheel 15 mounted on a' stud 16 projecting from the adjoining wall '.or face of the casing 1.. A crank 17 is loosely mounted upon the stud 16 on the outer face of the .wheel 15, said crank being connected by a pitman 18 to the crank 19 that is formed on one end of a shaft20', said shaft being prefer bly substantially vertically disposed and journaled to ro ate about its longitudinal axis in a bearing bracket 20. The upper end of the .shaft 20is formed with a crank 21'disposed -in an ular relation to the crank 19 a.:.d con- -necte to a laterally movable shipper lever 22 operatively'connected intermediate of its ends to the pinion 12 to slide thesame into and out of engagement withthe clutch 13,

said shipper-lever being fulerumed at one end in a stud or boss 22 formed on the a d joining face of the casing 1.

In order to actuate the loose crank 17, the gear wheel 15 is provided on its outer face with a stud'o'r pin 23,- designed to engage the opposite edges of the crank 17 to rock the same. back and forth in the opposite rogtations of the gear wheel 15, within the limits indicated by full and dotted lines in- Fig. 1. 1

To connect and disconnect the pinion 9 and gear wh'ecljil, a clutch 24 is provided, and a shipper lever 25 which is operatively connected to said clutch, said shipper leverbeing fulcrumed at-one end, ason a stu d 26.

formed on the adjoining face of the casing 1' and. being'guided in its movements in a forked stud 27, also formed on said face. The shipper lever 25 is operated by the driver ofthe automobile, for instance, in any desired wa as by a foot/pedal, (not shown) arranged inconvenient proximity to the drivers seat.. The purpose of this shipper lever 18110. release the spring for cranking,

as will. be hereinafter more fuliy described.

28 designates a spring which is secured to one face'of the casing 1 and which is designed to engage,,alternately, the beveled ends' 29 of the crank 19, so as to positively hold said crank and its concomitant parts in fadjusted position, v as against accidental movement.v i

ll' designaies a detent or pawl operating on the gear wheel 11 and designed to hold the same from running backward when the spring 2 is wound up, when the clutch 13 is released from the pinion l2.

1 In describing the practical-operation of my improved engine cranking device, reference is to be first had to Fig. 1 which shows the clutches in position for winding, the pinion 12 being inmesh with the clutch 13 and the clutch 24 connecting together the gear wheel-11 and pinion 9. "The turning of the shaft 6 will cause the pinion 12 to turn thegear wheel 11, and said gear wheel will also turn the pinion 9, and-through the idler 8 will turn the gear wheel 7 which is integral with the spring arbor 3, causing the spring to be wound tightly, as is mani operation of winding, it will be evident that as-the pinion 14 is integral with the arbor 3,

it will turn the gear wheel 15 in the direction illustrated by the dart in Fig; 1. The pin 23 being against one edge of the crank est. In this 17 as illustrated in full lines in Fig. 1, will thus begin to move away from the crank until it comes around and engages the crank 17 on the opposite side, when it will move said crank to the position shown by dotted lines,

and through the instrumentality of the pitman 18 and. crank shaft 20, will movethe shipper lever 22 in a direction to release the pinion 12 from the clutch 13. Thus the sprin winding means will be automaticall move to an inoperative positionafter the spring has been wound to the desired tension, and the shaft 6 will run free, the gears being idle. It. is, of course, to be understood that the initial winding of the spring 2 is usually a manual operation, and that it may sometimes be necessary til-rewind the sprinfiinin case. the automatic operationof cran fails to start the-engn'ie, as from defective ignition, lack of fuel, 01- the like but that ordinarily after the spring has tive rotation of the engine shaft. The shaft.

een once wound, it will not be necessary to rewind t by hand,"as it will be rewound by the posl- 6, therefore, which extends from theengine" I shaft or is identical therewith, also extends admit the use of a-detach'able crank at the front of the shaft iii-case itis necessary at through the cranking device far enough-to,

any timeto crank by hand or to rewind the;

spring. Preferably, there is a friction or other -clutch forming the connection betweenthe engine shaft. and cranking shaft 6, so that this clutch can be thrown out while the engine is running, to eliminate the wear of .the cranking shaft in the'cranking device; and with this friction clutch thrown out, it is obvious that very little strength will be required to wind up the spring 2 and will fall into the pockets, causing the arbor .3 and shaft 'ti to rotate together, in an evident manner. As the sprin thus revolves the shaft 6, by meansof the all iclutc l the spring, oficours'e, will tend to run down,'and when -this happens, the reverse rotation of the .gcar'wheel 15 caused by its engagement Now,

with the pinion 14 of the arbor 3, will cause the pin 23 to comeback into position so as. to move the crank 17 from the dotted line to full line posit-ion, th roiiv-' the shipper lever 22 in a direction to e ect the enga ment of the'pinion 12 and clutch 13, $9 spring thereupon beginning to wind up; again under the actuation of the rotating shaft 6. These operations are, ofvc'ourse, re-

ated alternately, the spring "being wound upby the shaft 6 and the spring winding means being moved to an inoperative position asxsoon asthe "spring has been fully wound-up,.;and the spring winding means being subsequently-automatically reset toan operative position after the spring has positively turned thecrank shaft 16 and crankede the fore description and accompanying drawings disclose'what I deem to-be-the preferred embodiment of my in- -'vention,-it= is*t0 be understoodthat the in-- ventionis notfliinitedthereto, but that various changes maybe made in the construcclaims; Y

parts withoutjdeparting from the scope of tion,'"arrangement--and proportions of the Having thus described the invention, what claimed as new is:

-' 1. A cranking device for engines, embody- ,a. Spring concentrically disposed to 1 and 'mountedf on the shaft, 8.

tram ogeg'earing arranged to'place the spring under member'f moflnted- -on the sha another cIutch-memberonthe' shaft and co-acting with the saidfirst-named clutch 'member, one off said clutch members being loose on the cranking shaft, and'the other relatively fixed thereon, afs'hip'per lever connected to Ionebfsaid clutch members to connect and disconnect" them, a, wheel movable with the 'train'of-gearing, means controlled by wheel for actuating said shipper lever, and

. means for transmitting energy from the under tension to the 'crankingshaft.

spr cranking device for engines, embodying a power spring, a cranking shaft, a tram of. gearing arranged to place the spring under tension upon the rotation of the shaft,

' said-'train of gearin {including a clutch member loose on'the s aft, a clutchmember as relatively 'fixedbntheshaft and co-acting with the loosebldtch member, a shipper lever .operatively connected to the loose clutch member, a revoluble stud movable with thetrain of gearing, a loose crank, the

' stud beingarranged to engage said crank to move the same in one direction or the reverse according to the direction of revolution of: the stud, a crank shaftv operatively I connected to saidcrank andto the shipper lever, and meansfor transmitting energy from the spring under tension to thecrank- -4. A cranking nsion upon the rotation of the shaft, V v said train of" gearing "including: a clutch said ing shaft. r

3. A cranking devicefor engines,- embodying a power spring, a cranking shaft, a. tram of gearing arranged to place the spring under tension upon' the rotation of the shaft,

a clutch member loose on the shaft and included in said train of gearing, another clutch member relatively fixed on the shaft and co-acting with-the first-named clutch member, means for connecting and 'di'scon necting said clutch members, said means including a loose crank, a shipper lever and an operative connection between the loose crank and the shipper lever, means for autorections to operate the shipper lever in both directions so as to connect and disconnect the clutch members, and meansfor transmitting energy from the spring under tension to the c'rankin' shaft. 1 i

4 evice for engines, embodying a power spring, a cranking shaft, a

'80 matically movmgsaid crank in opposite dltrain of gearing between the shaft and.'

spring arranged to place the spring under tension upon the rotationof the shaft, said train of gearing including a clutch member,

anotherclutch member, one of said clutch members being loose on the shaft and the other relatively fixed thereon, a wheel movable with the train of'gearing and'provided with a stud, a loose crankdesigned for engagement by said stud to move the crank in one direction or the reverse according to the direction of rotation of "said wheel, a shipper lever arranged to-connect and disconnect the clutch members, and.an opera- 'tive connection. between said wheel. and said shipper lever. v

5. A cranking device for engines, embod ing a cranking shaft, an arbor loose y mounted on the shaft, a spring held atone train of earmg. arr spring on er'tension upon the rotation of the shaft,,sai d tram o 'end and operatively engaging the'jarbor, a; i

' to place tho 11 member relatively fined on the she :and

a clutch member loose on the shall'ajclute acting with the loose clutchmem a shipper lever o ratively connected to ;.the loose clutch mem r to connect it and disconnect a wheel actuated by the rotation of the arbor in one direction, means controlled-by said- -it'with and from the fixedclutch member,

upon the rotation of the shaft in one direc tion, said train of gearing including a clutch member provided with a pinion and mounted loose on the shaft, a 01 tch member V therefor, a pltman connection between said loose crank and another crank formed on relatively fixed on the shaft and co-act-ing with the loose clutch member, a shipper lever connected to the loose clutch member, a wheel movable with the train of gearing, means controlled by said wheel for automatically actuating said shipper lever in a direction to disconnect the clutch members 'anddisen'tagement from said clutch, gearing operatlvely connectin said pinion with the arbor' to wind up t e spring, a gear wheel operatively connected to said arbor to be=turned thereby, a shipper lever arranged-to make and break the connection between the pinion and clutch, a crank shaft having one crank connected to the shipperlever, a loose crank arm, a support said crank shaft, said gear. wheel being provided.yvith a pin adapted to engage said loose crank arm to-rock the same in opposite directions, wherebyto actuate theshipper 'lever in both directions, for the purpose specified, means for holding the spring unst derten'sion, means for releasing the holding means, and means for transmitting the ena}??? of the tensioned spring to the cranking s a t. v

:8.- A cranking device for engines includ --ing with the shaft for movemcntin one (11- ing a crank shaft, an arbor thereon engagrectionibut disengaging therefrom upon a movementinth'e otherdirection, a power spring on the arbor, arbor dr1v1ngmcans operatively en ageable with the crank shaft and rotating 51c arborIin-one direction to wind up the spring, means actuated by a rotation of the arbor through a predetermined-number ofrevolutions in a direction to unwind the spring, automatically shift ing said driving means into engagement wind up the spring, means when actuatedwith the crank shaft to rota to the arbor and by the rotation of the arbor III a spring :wmding direction through a predetermined number of revolutions automatically disengaging the arbor driving means from the shaft.

-9. A cranking device for engines including a crankshaft, an arbor thereon engaging with the shaftupon a movement in one direction but disengaging therefrom upon movement'jn the other direction, a casing mounted upon the arbor, a coiled spring disposed within the casing and surrounding member the arbor and attached at one end to the 'arbor and at the other end to the casing.

arbor driving means mounted upon the casing and operatively cngageable with the crank shaft, said driving means rotating the arbor in one direction to wind up the spring, means actuated by a rotation of the arbor through aprcdetermined number of revolutions in a direction to unwind the spring, automatically shifting said driving means into engagement with the crank shaft to rotate the arbor and wind up the spring, said" means when actuated by the rotation of the arbor in a spring wind ng direction through apredetermined number of revolutions automatically disengaging the driving means from the shaft.

1 0. A cranking device for engines including a crank shaft, an arbor thereon engaging with the shaft upon a movement in one direction but disengaging therefrom upon movement in the other direct-ion, a casing mounted upon the arbor, a coiled power spring mounted within the casing and connected at one end to the arbor and at the other end to the casing, a driving gear wheel mounted upon the casing to rotate/the same, a gear wheel loose on the crank shaft and engaging said first named gear wheel, said last named gear wheel forming one member of a ctntch, a second clutch member fast on the shaft and coactiug with the first named clutch member, means for shifting the clutch m'cmbcrs intoor out of engagement, means actuated by a rotation of the arbor through a predetermined number of revolutions In a direction to unwind the spring,

automatically shifting said movable clutch member into or out of engagement with the vfixed clutch member to operatively connect or disconnect the driving gear to or from the shaft, said meanswhen actuatedby the rotation of the arbor in a spring winding direction, automatically disengagin the clutches when thc'arbor has accompdished a predete mined number ofrevolutions to wind up the spring.

11. A cranking device for engines including a crank shaft, an arbor thereon for em gaging with the shaft upon a movement in one direction but disengaging therefrom upon movement in the other direction, a casing mounted on the arbor, a power spring surrounding the arbor and connected at one end to the arbor and a't t'ie other end to the casing, a shaft carried by the casing, a drivin gear wheel on the shaft, a. clutch loose upon the crank shaft and carrying a gear wheel engaging with the first named gear wheel, a fixed clutch member 3 on the crank shaft coaeting with the loose clutch member,;a gear wheel on the arbor, and a wheel carried by the casing and engageable with said gear wheel on the arbor,

a. shipper le er connected, to the movable I "Mama clutch, and means cairriedi by the last named wheel for engaging said shipper lever to shift the movable memberof the clutch in one direction or the 5 of the last named wh direction;

other upon a rotation}- eel through a predeter- In j'testimony whereof, I afiix iny ture 1n presen Witnesses ce of two witnesses. COLEMAN H. B

signa- ROWN. [I 8 MGCALLUM, 

